UCI gets $1.25 million NASA grant to create research opportunities for Cal State L.A. minority students

NASA has awarded UCI $1.25 million as part of a new $5 million center at Cal State Los Angeles for STEM education, with an emphasis on minority students in areas such as climate change, hydrology, computational physics and data science.

by Tom Vasich, UC Irvine |
May 5, 2015

Students with UCI’s Data Science Initiative will work with peers from Cal State Los Angeles.
Diana Loffin / UC Irvine

NASA has awarded UCI $1.25 million as part of a new $5 million research center at Cal State Los Angeles for STEM education, with an emphasis on minority students in areas such as climate change, hydrology, computational physics and data science. The effort will be supported by UCI’s Data Science Initiative and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Data Science & Technology. The goal of the five-year grant is to train students in aerospace research and development and increase science, technology, engineering and math degrees, especially among minority and low-income students. Computer science professor Padhraic Smyth, director of the campus’s Data Science Initiative, will lead UCI’s project and work with five other UCI faculty members from engineering, physical sciences and computer science to host Cal State Los Angeles students for short summer workshops and lab visits. The funding will also allow for a project coordinator and limited summer support for participating faculty members and doctoral students.